Many vehicles include navigation systems that assist a driver in navigating to a particular destination. Generally, the systems include a database that stores information describing a number of points of interest (POIs) and roadways. After the driver identifies a particular target POI, the navigation system calculates a route along available roadways that will allow the vehicle to travel from its current location to the selected POI.
The navigation system is only as accurate as its database. As such, the database must be updated from time to time or else the data becomes stale. Old databases may include POIs that no longer exist, or roadways that have been closed, and may also fail to include newer POIs and new roads. As POIs change, the accuracy of any particular navigation system can be quickly diminished.
Additionally, because navigation systems use addresses to store the location of POIs, the location of a particular POI is only as accurate as that POI's address. For POIs located on small properties (e.g., homes, independent restaurants, or stand-alone stores) an address can usually accurately locate that POI. For other POIs that are part of larger properties, though, addresses can be very inaccurate, particularly when the POI sublets from a larger property. For restaurants or gas stations located at a shopping mall, for example, the only address available may be that of the shopping mall. In that case, the address of the shopping mall may identify a point that is some distance away from the POI itself.
FIG. 1, for example, shows an overhead view of a shopping mall. In FIG. 1, the location identified by the address for the entire shopping complex is shown as element 2. The address for the shopping mall is generally positioned at a corner of the property proximate the intersection of two cross-streets. Also as shown on FIG. 1, the location of the POI on the mall property is shown by bull's eye 4. If a user should attempt to navigate to the POI (e.g., a particular store, gas station, or other establishment on the mall property) using the address for the shopping mall, as demonstrated by FIG. 1, the navigation system will navigate the user to a location that is some distance from the POI.
One particular type of POI that can be particularly difficult to locate accurately is electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. As EV charging stations become increasingly popular, new or upgraded charging stations will be rapidly deployed, and old stations will be removed or disabled. Often, charging stations are located within larger properties, such as large parking lots of shopping malls, airports, or convention centers, making accurately locating the charge stations difficult.